>> speaker boehner and i speak frequently. and, you know, i think the issue right now -- >> so, when? when will the two of you sit down in a room? >> you know, i don't think that the issue right now has to do with sitting in a room. >> reporter: in part, the white house was burned by the debt ceiling negotiations of 2011, when lots of meetings failed to stave off a fiscal nightmare. but there's another strategy at play. some in the administration say they learned in the first term the best way to break washington stalemates, rally the public to their cause. here's how the president put it to cbs news. >> so getting out of this town, spending more time with the american people, i need to do a better job of that in my second term. >> a better job of explaining? >> well, explaining, but also inspiring. >> now, wolf, for now, negotiations between the white house and congressional republicans are on deep freeze. at the white house, they are just waiting for the republicans to blink and agree to raise rates for the wealthiest. repub